Chapter 4 of The Three Midshipmen is here in full — 387 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Three Midshipmen is here in full — 387 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain. "Does any one hear them?" In an instant there was a dead silence. No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship. Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.
Chapter 4 of The Three Midshipmen is here in full — 387 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane
From this reading “"Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.”
possessing life
From this reading “No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.”
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading “No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.”
plural of “being” — the state or fact of existing
From this reading “No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.”
inflected form of “bear” — have
From this reading “Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.”
front part of a vessel or aircraft
From this reading “"Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.”
with strained or eager attention
From this reading “Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.”
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading “"Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading In an instant there was a dead silence.
at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane
From this reading "Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.
possessing life
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading In an instant there was a dead silence.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "Does any one hear them?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
plural of “being” — the state or fact of existing
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
inflected form of “bear” — have
From this reading Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading "Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading In an instant there was a dead silence.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Does any one hear them?"
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.
front part of a vessel or aircraft
From this reading "Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "Does any one hear them?"
characteristic of humanity
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
ten 10s
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In an instant there was a dead silence.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading In an instant there was a dead silence.
with strained or eager attention
From this reading Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
a particular point in time
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
not any; not one
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Does any one hear them?"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading "Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.
transport commercially
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading "Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.
required or under orders
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Silence fore and aft," sang out the captain.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "Does any one hear them?"
in or at that place or location
From this reading In an instant there was a dead silence.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Every one listened intently, but no sound was borne to their ears.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In an instant there was a dead silence.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading No one would have supposed that many hundred human beings were at that moment alive and awake on board the ship.
Chapter 4 of The Three Midshipmen by William Henry Giles Kingston holds 387 sentences, grouped into 78 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 4 holds 387 sentences of The Three Midshipmen, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Three Midshipmen by William Henry Giles Kingston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 387 sentences, grouped into 78 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 4 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Three Midshipmen by William Henry Giles Kingston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8010 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24812 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24812, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1602 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Three Midshipmen section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Three Midshipmen to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Three Midshipmen, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
